Belém, Brazil — It’s Week 2 of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 30, which means some organizations and teams get a handover while others are just handed more coffee.
Over the weekend, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Belém, demanding more immediate climate action and the protection of the Amazon. Some carried massive black coffins, with “coal,” “oil,” or “gas” written on them, and others marched through the burning heat on stilts — because why not? More Indigenous protests were planned for Monday morning, and the police presence was definitely stepped up around the venue.
Inside the venue, meanwhile, there were more conversations about forests, oceans, and farming — three of this week’s big themes.
About the authors
Ayenat Mersie
Ayenat Mersie is a Global Development Reporter for Devex. Previously, she worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as National Geographic and Foreign Policy and as an East Africa correspondent for Reuters.
Jesse Chase-Lubitz
Jesse Chase-Lubitz covers climate change and multilateral development banks for Devex. She previously worked at Nature Magazine, where she received a Pulitzer grant for an investigation into land reclamation. She has written for outlets such as Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and The Japan Times, among others. Jesse holds a master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics.
